Offshore workers were airlifted from a drilling rig in the North Sea following an engine fire. A total of 32 of the 87 personnel were taken off the installation before the fire was brought under control on Tuesday night. No-one was injured.

The Ocean Guardian rig, which is owned by Diamond Offshore and has a potential drilling depth of 25,000ft, is located 120 miles north east of Aberdeen. A spokesman for Diamond said the evacuation had been a precaution. "We have had a fire in the engine room," he said. "As a precaution we began down-manning non-essential personnel."

Damage assessment

The fire broke out at about 1900 BST on Tuesday.

The spokesman added: "The fire is out and there are no injuries, everyone is accounted for. There were two helicopters which lifted a total of 32 people off the rig, 19 were in one helicopter and 13 in the second. Fifty five people are still on board and the incident is at an end. We are in the process of assessing the damage."

He said there was a fire suppression system in place which was activated when the fire broke out.

The Houston-based company described the Ocean Guardian as a semi-submersible drilling rig.